Liquids ‘impregnated’ with ozone otherwise known as ‘ozonated liquids’ or ‘ozone-rich solutions’, provided that a proper concentration and dispersion of the ozone within the liquid is achieved, are useful for the sanitation of surfaces, as an antiseptic, for the topological treatment of skin conditions and wounds, for maintaining general well-being, and for expediting the healing process of infections in both dental and medical applications. However, health and safety concerns in the medical and dental application of ozone, be it gaseous or liquid-impregnated, entail that it must be free of contaminants or by-products, and therefore must be produced from pure oxygen.
This has traditionally been achieved, for example in HealOzone™ commercial products, by utilizing a medical grade oxygen canister that is free from the impurities found in ambient air, or alternatively by generating oxygen locally by means of an electrical apparatus for separating the impurities and the moisture found in ambient air from the pure oxygen it contains. Both these traditional approaches have shortcomings, the former requires the transportation, storage and handling of oxygen canisters that may present a safety hazard if proper pressure, heat, and spark conditions cannot be strictly controlled (for example in a typical residential household), and indeed oxygen canisters have been barred on commercial airlines; the latter requires a bulky and noisy air-pump based component, thereby consuming energy, restricting the possibility of both the miniaturisation of the device and its placement (again for example in a typical residential household), and generating production as well as maintenance costs related to the mechanical components that are employed.
Moreover, even if medical grade ozone output is not required (for example for surface sanitation), once a source of pure oxygen is not employed, in order to generate substantial ozone at a reasonable rate (i.e. gram per hour) one would require the use of a cumbersome conventional electrical air ‘dryer’ for the purpose of dehumidification, as disclosed in US patent application 2005/236338 (MINNIX): ‘Meanwhile, oxygen (O2) enters dryer 57 where it is dried in preparation for conversion to ozone (O3). The dried oxygen (O2) flows to ozone generator 56, which produces ozone (O3) from the dried oxygen (O2).’, or similarly in the system for water purification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,763 (O'BRIEN) as disclosed in claim 1 therein ‘ . . . (c) means for chilling and thereafter drying the ambient air prior to its being passed through said ozone generator;’.
The direct application of gaseous ozone for medical or dental purposes, for example as disclosed in European patent 1335680 (CUROZONE), presents environmental challenges with respect to preventing the exposure of unintended tissue and organs to ozone gas, as well as the environmental damage associated with the uncontrolled release of ozone to the general environment. Hence CUROZONE teaches: ‘A cup attached to the hand piece, is provided for receiving the gas and exposing a selected area of the tooth to the gas. The cup may include a resilient edge for sealably engaging the tooth around the selected area to prevent escape of the gas therepast.’, and ‘In that regard a controller may be provided for regulating the ozone and aspiration pumps in order to circulate the gas into and out of the cup chamber at a pressure insufficient to escape past the sealed engagement between and the tooth.’ However, these measures for preventing ozone leakage rely on professionally applied sealants and high maintenance aspiration pumps that are suited both technologically (noise, physical volume, maintenance, ease-of-use) and ultimately also economically for a professional environment (e.g. a dental practice), rather than for use by a layperson in a residential environment.
Ozone can also be used in sanitary, medical, and dental applications by impregnating a liquid with ozone. Ozonated liquid mostly captures the ozone within it, and is not easily aspirated (gaseous ozone can cause irritation and damage to the respiratory system) therefore its application presents a highly reduced ‘health and safety’ risk, and makes it suitable for use in home appliances, provided that any ozone off-gas, produced during the impregnating process or the temporary storage of the impregnated liquid, is contained or safely decomposed.
To assure the balance between the effectiveness in the application of an ozonated liquid on the one hand, and the safety of the application on the other, one must control the concentration of ozone within the dispensed ozonated liquid. GB patent application 2012/051502 (HESKETH) discloses ‘a device for supply of ozonated liquid, comprising a liquid reservoir, a supply passage which communicates with the reservoir and is connectable to an outlet of an ozone generator and a pump for circulating fluid in a loop in which the fluid passes from the reservoir to the ozone generator back to the reservoir through the passage . . . ’, in which ‘By circulating the water in this closed loop for a period of time, the ozone concentration in the reservoir 16 is progressively increased and relatively high concentrations can be achieved.’ Moreover, HESKETH further discloses that ‘Some means of control is required to ensure that an adequate concentration of ozone is achieved.’, and goes on to offer that ‘This may simply be achieved by a timer which causes the pump 36 and the ozone generator to run for a chosen period.’ or alternatively ‘to actively monitor ozone concentration, which may be achieved through a sensor (not shown) mounted e.g. in the reservoir 16.’ Similarly MINNIX teaches ‘The amount of ozone generated may be adjusted according to the amount of ozone sensed in the water.’; and likewise in the Method and apparatus for preparation and use of ozone water of U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,898 (OTRE AB) claim 1 teaches: ‘ . . . ozone measuring means (51) for measuring the ozone concentration of said water in the container (60).’
Furthermore HESKETH teaches that due to the ‘relatively expensive ozone generator’ component, in order not to hinder mobility and cost-effectiveness, once the ‘Fluid 18 (typically water) is circulated through the ozone generator as so charged with ozone . . . the unit 10 can be disconnected from the ozone generator and taken to a point of use (e.g. hospital ward).’, thereby allowing the use of a plurality of ozonated liquid delivery units with a single ozone generator. Indeed HESKETH cites the lack of an onboard ozone generator as a cost-effective technological advantage when compared with the cleaning and disinfecting apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,589 (GOODLEY). Still both HESKETH and GOODLEY rely on the time-consuming circulation of the liquid in order to increase the ozone concentration, as taught by GOODLEY: ‘a recirculating system for recirculating the combined water and ozone from the holding tank through the venturi for increasing the ozone concentration’. Likewise, MINNIX teaches recirculation as a means for achieving increased ozone concentration, or otherwise referred to as ‘super-impregnation’: ‘The ozone is then passed to venturi 34, which injects the unsterilized water with the ozone to produce ozonated (sterile) water. The ozonated water then flows from venturi 34 to holding tank 38 via pipe 52. The ozonated water is drawn from holding tank 28 back to pump 24 via pipe 54, and is either recirculated to venturi 34 for super-impregnation of ozone, or released to tap 32.’.
It is therefore a long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the medical and dental benefits availed by exposure to medical-grade ozone, that overcomes the safety issues relating to transport, storage and handling, associated with the conventional use of ‘onboard’ pressurised pure-oxygen as the source gas for medical-grade ozone. It is a further long-felt need to provide a system and method for the medical and dental benefits availed by exposure to medical-grade ozone, that overcomes the cumbersome volume, noise, maintenance, and cost associated with the conventional use of an onboard oxygen generator or air separator as the provider of a source gas for medical-grade oxygen. It yet another long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the hygiene and sanitation effects availed by the exposure of areas and surfaces to an effective amount or concentration of ozone, without the cumbersome bulk, the noise, the cost, the maintenance, associated with the conventional use an air dryer or air cooler. It is yet another long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the medical, dental, hygiene and sanitation effects availed by the controlled exposure of areas and surfaces to ozone, without the cumbersome bulk, the noise, the cost, the maintenance, the professional infrastructure, and professional operation, in conventional gaseous ozone delivery systems. It is yet another long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the medical, dental, hygiene and sanitation effects availed by the controlled exposure of areas and surfaces to an ozone-rich solution, which overcomes the time-consuming, cumbersome, maintenance-heavy and costly utilization of repeated circulation of the liquid through means for impregnating the liquid with ozone, or otherwise repeatedly impregnating the liquid with ozone, in order to achieve an adequate concentration of ozone within the liquid. It is a further long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the medical, dental, hygiene and sanitation effects availed by the controlled exposure of areas and surfaces to an ozone-rich solution at a particular concentration adequate for a particular application, that overcomes reliability, placement and maintenance difficulties brought on by the conventional usage of a sensor placed in contact with the liquid. It is a further long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the medical, dental, hygiene and sanitation effects availed by the controlled exposure of areas and surfaces to an ozone-rich solution at a particular concentration adequate for a particular application, that overcomes the perplexity often brought on in a layperson when confronted with the manual setting of a particular concentration by conventional control panel means, and the risk of accidentally operating the system at an unintentional setting and consequently delivering an ozone-rich solution at an undesired or even harmful concentration. It is yet another long-felt need to provide a system and method for the provision of the sanitation, hygiene, dental and medical benefits of gaseous ozone or an ozone-rich solution in a device of non-bulky unobtrusive dimensions, that avoids the complexity in operation and maintenance-heavy, cost, and safety issues that have typically restricted the provision of devices that are capable of safely delivering effective ozone amount or concentration to non-professional users in non-professional settings.